Bezerra Again Steals Show on Bellator 49 Undercard

For the third time in three months, the 23-year-old Brazilian put
on a standout performance on one of the company's bills, this time
stopping Scott
Heckman in the second round of their 147-pound contest at
Bellator 49 at Caesars Atlantic City.

In the opening round, the former East Stroudsburg University
wrestler took the Brazilian to the mat on occasion, but couldn't
hold him there and was soundly outstruck on the feet by the Sao
Paulo native's boxing.

“He couldn't take me down. The strategy was exactly what happened
in the fight,” Bezerra told Sherdog.com following the bout. “He
would get tired trying to take me down, and when he got tired, I
would go for it and take him down. That was the gameplan. I wasn't
going to let him go.”

In the second, Bezerra did exactly that. He dispensed with
striking, slamming Heckman to the ground, taking his back and
tearing into him with heavy punches until referee Gasper
Oliver was forced to rescue the Bangor, Penn., fighter 98
seconds into the round.

Bezerra, who resides in Elkins Park, N.J., moves to 11-1 with the
win, with his last three victories coming inside the Bellator
cage.

Roberts was smacked with heavy punches inside in the first round,
his head snapping back continuously. However, as the round wound
down, a big left hand led to Roberts grabbing a guillotine that
forewarned of the submission skills that would take Van Artsdalen
out.

In the second, Van Artsdalen dove into Roberts’ open guard with
punches, only to eat a vicious upkick. Much like Ivan
Salaverry on Joe Riggs,
Roberts quickly locked up a tight triangle that put Van Artsdalen
to sleep
at 1:47 of the second round, earning his fourth straight win.

“I caught him with an upkick underneath the jaw. I was just waiting
for one of his arms to come through on one of his punches and I got
it,” Roberts said after the win. “Once I got it locked up I knew it
was a matter of keeping it sunk and keeping it tight. I knew I had
plenty of time.”

K.
Mills

Karavackas flattened Maynard.

New Jersey-based Lithuanian Giedrius
Karavackas earned an impressive come-from-behind win of his
own, knocking out Norfolk, Va.,’s LeVon
Maynard in the third round.

The Lithuanian judoka was dropped by a heavy right hook in the
first round and was slow to work his way back into the fight, as
his kicking offense didn't show effect and he couldn't hold Maynard
down.

In the third, Maynard shot in for a double-leg while Karavackas
kicked, shooting straight into a flush knee that dropped him on his
face. Karavackas swarmed, boxing his foe’s ears until referee
Donnie Carolei stopped the bout at 1:32 of the final frame.

Keith
Mills

Anyanwu outslugged Dudley.

At 150 pounds, Kurt
Pellegrino student Lester
Caslow outlasted BJJ black belt James Jones,
in part due to injury. Just 15 seconds into the second frame, a
Caslow right caused Jones to step back awkwardly, tweaking his
right knee. Caslow pounced with punches to force Gasper Oliver to
stop the bout just 15 seconds into the round.

In the evening's heavyweight opener, Azunna
Anyanwu ended his fight with J.A. Dudley
with fireworks, as Philadelphia's “Zulu” moved to 4-0 with a series
of hooks and straights that finished the fight at 4:16 of the
second round.